The party is over, and most of the party guests are leaving the house. Ianto gets a surprise before he falls asleep. Jack is curious about what happened, and Castiel reveals his thoughts on the matter. Sam discovers something about his brother.

Song in this chapter

Smoke on the Water - Deep Purple - M/L: Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice

Cleanup

As soon as the door was closed Unique jumped up and ran over to Cas. He was shaking and he had a hard time holding himself up. "You did great. You saved us." She helped him over to the couch before she turned to Sam. The softness in her voice was gone when she addressed him. "You better get your asshole of a brother out of here before he attacks somebody else."

Sam had been standing there quietly during the little police drama. He'd looked a little confused through it all, but now his jaw dropped and his confusion seemed to reach another level. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

Nobody really knew what had gotten into Dean when he suddenly and without warning attacked John. Unique kept her voice down as she walked over to Sam. "He is crazy. For no apparent reason, he punched John in the face and the two of them got into a fight before anyone of us could prevent it."

Sam was on his way towards the door to the basement when Unique stopped him. "No. We have to plan how to do this." She turned to the others. "The fight could of course be over by now, but I wouldn't count on it. It'll be easier to keep them apart if they believe that the police are still here."

Castiel had calmed down a little, although he was still a little shook up. "I'll go and get him. I'll tell him that Sam needs him for something." He got up and sighed heavily. "I'm sober, and I think that he'll listen to me."

Both Unique and Sam were about to say something, but Cas lifted his hand to stop them. He wasn't used to being in charge, but he knew that he had to take care of this. "Just… er. Wish me luck."

Dean was still sitting in the bean-bag chair. Jack was hovering over him with a bloody napkin pressed against his mouth. Jane and John were standing in the opposite corner whispering quietly. Garth and Charlie seemed to be sleeping on the couch. The twins was sitting on the floor next to it in a tight embrace while Gwen was pacing back and forth. She stopped abruptly in the middle of the floor when Cas descended the stairs.

Everybody else, except for Garth and Charlie, looked at him as he crossed the floor and walked over to Dean. "Come with me. Your brother needs you." He was not prepared for the impact his words had on Dean. The guy practically sprung to his feet. He'd been unable to get up when John charged for him, but now he got out of that bean bag surprisingly effortlessly.

Castiel noticed that both Jack and John reacted instinctively when Dean was on his feet, but they didn't try to stop him.

As soon as the guy had vanished up the stairs, they all turned to Cas again. "What happened?" Gwen was the first one to say anything. She seemed unusually nervous and somewhat humbled by the unfortunate turn of events. Even if it was Ianto's house, it was technically her party, so Cas could understand that she felt a little responsible.

He told them what the police officer had said, and continued to explain why he asked Dean to get up there. "I think this party is over now. I don't know who's going to spend the night here, but the rest should just leave."

Gwen slumped her head down and sighed. "But we were having fun. Dean was the one who caused problems, and he's leaving now, right?" She looked at Cas as if he had the final word in the matter. He shook his head. "It wasn't the fight that made the neighbors call the police. It was the loud music and the general noise we made."

They could all hear chatter from upstairs, but it was impossible to make anything out of it. The front door slammed shut, and soon after, Ianto and Unique came down. "Sam managed to get Dean out, and he is taking Kevin home." Ianto walked over to Gwen. "Sorry cuz, He's right, we have to call it a night."

Ianto had obviously overheard Castiel's little speech. He looked at the guys who were still awake. "I have no idea who was going to spend the night here, but I guess those two will." He nodded towards the couch where Garth and Charlie were sleeping soundly.

Jack had been to the bathroom to clean off the blood, and he was dabbing at his split lip with a clean napkin. "Most of you shouldn't drive, but I can take you home. I didn't drink much." Mason stood up and helped his sister to her feet. "Thanks, but I can drive myself. I have to get the car back anyway."

Unique didn't take her car because they already had enough drivers, so she took Jack's offer. Jane decided to do the same. She was still standing with John, and now she nudged him to get his attention. "What about you? Are you riding with us?" Then she threw a peek at Jack. "Oh, maybe… You punched him, maybe it's better if you go with the McCarthys?"

John pushed away from the wall and sighed. He looked embarrassed when he addressed Jack. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hit you, but I don't need a ride." He turned to Ianto. "Unless you've changed your mind." Ianto shrugged. "No, it's okay. You can spend the night."

Through all this, Castiel was contemplating on what to do. He hadn't even thought about the aftermath of his white lies. His parents wouldn't expect him home, and he knew he would get a lot of uncomfortable questions if he showed up in the middle of the night.

"I, I can't go home." He felt like a fool for not seeing this coming. "If it's possible, I'd rather stay, but…" He looked at Ianto. "I don't want to impose myself on you guys, but I can seriously not go home."

Gwen walked over to him and wrapped her arm around his waist. "We'll find room for you." She was a little drunk and had to lean on his shoulder to steady herself. "You didn't leave your sleeping bag in Dean's car did you?" She shrugged and continued before Cas got a chance to answer. "Crash on the floor here. We'll find some cushions or something to make it more comfortable."

"NO, No." Jack came over and practically pushed Gwen away. "You can sleep at my place. You saved us from the police, and you deserve a proper bed."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Ianto had been about to protest when Jack offered to take Castiel home. He was so not prepared for the jealous thoughts that ran through his mind when he pictured the two of them together, and was instantly ready to give up his own bed for Cas.

Knowing that everybody else in there would find the gesture somewhat weird, Ianto decided to keep his mouth shut.

There was no reason to believe that Jack and Castiel had anything going on, so it was probably just a nice gesture. Jack could of course have a hidden agenda, but Cas was innocence personified, and he was obviously just happy to get a place to crash.

Gwen had been busy tidying up a bit, but when the rest of the crowd had left she turned to Ianto. "You and John can finish up down here. He is partially responsible for ruining the party, so he can do his bit." With a disgruntled expression on her face, she'd gathered all the cups and glasses and was on her way up the stairs. "I'll start the dishwasher, you two can take care of the rest."

The first thing Ianto did after Gwen had left was to find a blanket for the two 'sleeping beauties' on the couch. Garth and Charlie was lying with their heads on each end of the couch, while their feet were tangled together in the middle.

Ianto draped the blanket over them and turned to John. "What happened? What happened between you and Dean?" He started to collect the empty bottles from the table as he was waiting for an answer. There were plenty of them, although he had expected it to be more. They would have a lot of leftovers for their next party. If there would ever be a next.

John grabbed the trash-bag Gwen had left for them, and slumped down on the floor. "I don't know. I didn't do anything. I sincerely do not know what got into the guy." He picked up nuts and popcorn and a few pieces of chips from the floor and put it in the bag. "I was sitting over there with Castiel. " He pointed towards the other end of the room. "We were having peaceful conversation... By the way. He's kind of cute, don't you think?"

Ianto was so not interested in hearing about that. He was quite fed up with his friend flirting with anything with a pulse. "Whatever. Get to the point. What happened next?" He pushed the tub with the bottles and cans under the staircase before he turned back to John. The guy had moved, and was now crawling under the table to pick up some more garbage. "Uh, okay. Anyway. We were joking around, and then… WHAM!"

It didn't sound very convincing. "So it was a normal conversation, 'bla-bla-bla', then Dean comes over and punches you? Is that what you're saying happened or are you conveniently omitting something?"

It was quiet for a split second. "Well I, I may have kissed him, but that...uh…" The blush extended down John's bare arm. Ianto didn't even know that the guy had it in him to be embarrassed, so it came as quite a surprise. "You kissed him? Why? Uh, you, oh… The choirboy?" Ianto had to give it another thought, and came to the conclusion that he must have interpreted this wrongly. "You and Cas? That's...not even plausible, is it?"

John shrugged as he got out from under the table. There was still a faint hue of pink on his face. "It wasn't that kind of kiss. It was only on the cheek, and it was my reaction to something he said, but Cas got so startled that he pushed me away. The next thing I knew was that Dean attacked me and punched me." John sighed and sat down on the floor with his legs crossed. "I reacted like any normal human being would have. I defended myself." He cocked his head. "When Jane got between us, Dean managed to grab my shirt and he tore the sleeve off it." He waved his arm where the ripped sleeve was hanging down from the cuff. "There was no good reason for this. My new favorite shirt and all."

John would probably never wear a shirt like that ever again, so Ianto knew it was a joke. He could have found it funny if he wasn't so annoyed with his friend. Not only because that incident was partially to blame for the party ending, but also because of John's seemingly total lack of insight. "You are joking, right? I mean, when you say you didn't know why Dean gave you a bloody nose." He panned the room and decided to leave the rest till morning. "Sorry, but are you in denial, or ar you just plain stupid?"

The two of them grabbed the leftover alcohol and carried upstairs. John didn't say anything until they reached Ianto's room. "I don't think Dean was jealous. Why would he be? Granted, he has that look when he eyes a nice ass, a boy's ass, but he's technically straight, uh?"

That wasn't the point really. Ianto didn't know Dean that well, He sometimes acted like he was God's gift to the female part of the population, but there was something dodgy about the whole guy. It was like he was trying too hard. "Maybe that's true, but… Maybe he felt that he had to protect Cas from you. Castiel is, er, seems so innocent, and you can easily be perceived as a predator."

Ianto was about to leave to use restroom. "I'm not… you really believe that? I would never… It wasn't even a real kiss, for Christ sake." John sounded a little offended, and Ianto turned to him. "I trust you, don't worry about what I think, but Dean doesn't know you as well as I do." He didn't want to discuss this anymore. Castiel was not his responsibility, and he couldn't care less about Dean, so he left the room without elaborating anymore.

He dived straight into bed when he came back while John went to brush his teeth.

They had slept together in this bed a few times. Except for that first night, there had never been any accidental cuddling, so it came as a surprise when John eased himself close to Ianto's back and wrapped an arm around him. "What are you doing?" Ianto was too tired to really do anything about it, but he wondered.

A soft kiss on his neck gave him shivers down his spine. "John, don't." This was just not right. A perfectly good friendship could go down the drain if he let this happen. John's hand started to wander down Ianto's chest as the guy scooted even closer. Ianto was about to stop that hand before it was too late, but another kiss threw him completely off task. He couldn't help hitching his breath when his dick reacted instantaneously.

He should probably say something. He should stop this before it went too far. Ianto held his breath contemplating on what to do, when John's hand came to rest just above the waistline of the pajama pants. "Goodnight Ianto. Sleep tight." John gave him another quick kiss on the neck and then… nothing.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Isn't it time for some sleep?

"My hosts are not home. They are visiting Rachel in New York and won't be back before late Sunday night, so it'll be fine." After taking Unique and Jane home, Jack and Castiel had finally arrived at the Berry-house. Castiel had been a little wary about it, wondering if anyone would find it odd that they came in at this time of night.

"My room is very small, and I only have a single bed, but I'm sure it'll be okay if you sleep in Rachel's room." Jack grabbed Castiel's backpack from the trunk of the car. "You won't need your sleeping bag, but I guess you'll need the toiletries." He threw it to Cas before he grabbed his own bag.

"Do you know what happened between those guys? You were sitting with John when Dean attacked him, so I just… Did he say anything?" Jack unlocked the door and gestured for Cas to go inside. The guy looked down for a moment before he sighed. "I don't know. I could guess, but it makes no sense."

Jack headed for the stairs. "What makes no sense? You guessing, or your actual guess." He turned briefly and smiled at Cas to encourage him to share. "Both. I really don't know, but I noticed that Dean was watching us for a long time while we were talking." They entered Rachel's room and Cas started to dig through his bag. "We were talking about experience, er, you know… and I told him that I'd never been kissed."

Jack lifted a brow. "Never? Really? Wow." He soon realized that it wasn't the best response if he wanted to hear the rest of the story. "Sorry, I'm sorry. Go on." Castiel pulled a pair of sweatpants out of his backpack and threw them on the bed. "Well. I've been kissed of course, but not like… you know… I've never had a girlfriend." He blushed a little as he spoke, but he didn't avert from his task. The small bag of toiletries landed next to the pants, but he kept digging.

After a few moments of silence, during which Jack was patiently waiting for Cas to continue, the guy sighed heavily. "I do not want to talk about it. I had nothing to do with what happened. I was just an innocent bystander." Cas had obviously found what he was looking for, and held up an old t-shirt. "If you don't mind, I will get ready for bed now." The guy was clearly embarrassed and Jack felt a little responsible.

"I have never had a girlfriend either." He hoped to make amends by sharing a little bit of himself. "I have kissed a few girls though, but a kiss is a kiss. It doesn't have to mean anything." He showed Castiel to the bathroom. Cas turned abruptly. "Exactly. That kiss didn't mean anything to me."

It took a few moments for Jack to get it. In the meantime, Cas had entered the bathroom and locked the door.

He should probably not pursue this any further, but curiosity got the better of him. As soon as Cas unlocked the door Jack was ready with the next question, "John kissed you, right?" He stepped aside to let Cas pass. "He kissed you and Dean got jealous. Oh boy. This is, this is..."

He followed Castiel over to the bed. The guy crawled under the blanket before he turned to Jack again. "That was my thought too, but it makes no sense." He drew his breath. "I told you that it made no sense. Dean just wanted to punch John, and I had probably nothing to do with it."

Dean, the Jock, had tried to make everybody believe that he was a womanizer. He bragged about his concours on a regular basis, and it was sometimes quite annoying. If it was true that he attacked John because he kissed Castiel, it would change Jack's view on the guy completely.

"I'm sorry to have to ask, but what kind of kiss was it?" Jack cocked his head. "Do you think that John wanted to get it on with you?" That would be a totally different story, but Jack couldn't help himself. "Oh please, I'm sorry but I'm just too curious to let this go."

Castiel shook his head. "No. John is in love with somebody else. It was just a quick peck on the cheek, and it didn't mean anything for him or me. It startled me somewhat, but it was quite innocent."

-o-o-o-o-

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!" Sam could help yelling to his brother as soon as they were alone in the car. "I leave you for a second, and that's all it takes for you to get into a fight." He knew his brother very well, and he knew that Dean could easily pick a fight under certain conditions. The party in Ianto's basement didn't really apply. "Everybody was friendly, there was no reason for this. You'll probably get thrown out of the Glee-club."

He had to shout because he was competing with Ian Gillan and Deep Purple as they headed home. Dean's rule about the driver picking the music obviously didn't apply on this ride.

"We ended up at the Grand Hotel

It was empty cold and bare…"

Dean didn't even try to defend himself, which was highly unusual. He was busy tapping the beat on of the song, but without the usual enthusiasm. He actually didn't utter a single word until Sam parked outside their building.

"Smoke on the water

a fire in the…"

Sam cut the engine and turned to his brother. "Will you please say something." He realized that he was still yelling, and lowered his voice significantly. "Please, Dean."

It took a moment and a few deep breaths before Dean finally turned to him. "Sam. I have a confession to make." He stepped out of the car and walked a little unsteadily over to their building without saying anything more. Sam ran after him and grabbed his sleeve. "What? What confession?"

They entered the apartment, and Dean went straight to the bathroom without elaborating any further. Sam waited for the longest time for his brother to come out. He was so ready for bed, but he was curious and he also needed to pee like a racehorse. He had good reasons to try to get Dean out of there. "You know I can unlock the door from outside. I'm coming in."

He didn't have to. Dean came out and dived onto the couch. "I'll sleep here. I should probably change, but I don't want to."

Sam knew that it would be kind of cold for Dean to sleep out there without a blanket, so he went into the alcove and fetched Dean's duvet. "You can't spring that on me and not elaborate." Sam tucked his brother in, and sat down on the edge of the couch. "I want to hear your confession."

With a bladder that was about to burst, Sam tried to get his brother's attention. "Dean! I'm not gonna let you sleep until you share, Come on...Dean? For fucks sake, don't fall asleep on me now. I want to know."

Dean grabbed the edge of the blanket and pulled it over his head. "Go away. I don't want to talk about it anymore. Ever!" He kicked Sam to get him out of the couch. "Go to bed and leave me alone. It was nothing. John is just such a prick."

It was no way he could hold it in any longer, so sam went to the bathroom to take a leak. That his brother seemed to have this resentment towards John came out of nowhere. The guy was funny and outspoken, and quite a character. His jokes and his somewhat friendly insults could be a little too much at times, but he was likable.

When he came back out, Dean was sitting up with the laptop open. He closed it quickly, but not quickly enough. Sam saw that he was on Facebook, and it surprised him. Dean had never been very interested in any of the social networks, and even if he had a profile, he was hardly ever on.

"I was just… er, I wanted to check if anyone had mentioned what happened." He put the computer on the table and lied down again. "Sorry bro, I ruined the party, and I'm sorry."

There was probably no point in trying to drag any information out of him at this moment, but his apology sounded genuine, so maybe he'd share in the morning. When he was sure that his brother wasn't watching, Sam grabbed the laptop and went to bed.

He was very curious, and felt like a stalker when he decided to check what Dean had been looking for. Gwen's smiling face was staring at him from the screen, but her account was sheltered from anyone she wasn't friends with. The information Dean could have gotten from browsing Facebook was limited; from what Sam could find out, none of the glee-club members were on his friends list.

He pressed the arrow to go back, and found out that Gwen hadn't been the first name in his search history. 'Castiel Novak', 'Jim Novak', 'Jimmy C. Novak', the list was long. Every possible way to spell his name came up, and Sam started to get the picture. On 'Jim C. Novak' there was one hit on the White pages, but none of the other searches had resulted in anything.

Sam had noticed that John and Cas had hung out together at the party, but he hadn't really thought much of it. If Dean had a crush on Cas, he could easily have been provoked by it. Drunk and jealous, he could have tried to come between the two of them, and if John had come up with any of his lines, it could have aggravated Dean into attacking him.

It had been a while since Sam had discovered that his brother wasn't as straight as he appeared to be. Dean had no idea how to cover his tracks when he used the computer, so Sam had gotten a few surprises when he checked the browsing history.

He hadn't initially done it to spy. About a year back, Sam had been looking for a page he'd been on before, and scrolling down the list of hits, he had found some disturbing urls. It took a while before he dared to confront Dean about them, but eventually he felt he had to.

Some of the pages that Dean had been to could potentially carry malware, and even if Sam was capable of handling it, he felt that it would be better if he taught his brother a little bit about internet safety.

It had been the most awkward conversation he'd ever had with his brother. Dean tried to deny any knowledge of it, but he caved in when he understood that his denial was futile. He'd also tried to make some lame and totally unbelievable excuses, but sam never fell for it. He was pretty sure that his brother was what they called 'bi-curious', and even if Sam had a hard time dealing with it at first, he soon realized that it didn't matter for him.

He wasn't sure if that was true anymore. It was easy to accept that his brother looked at pictures and video of random guys, but when he started to search for one specifically, it became real. If Dean had a crush on Castiel, Sam would have to reevaluate his own view on the matter.